Housing Supply Solutions

Housing Supply Solutions

October 2022

Housing supply is the number one issue for millions of consumers who are locked out of the market. Middle-income, first-time, and first-generation homebuyers shoulder the greatest burden of the historic 5.5 million housing unit gap, as they face more obstacles in the current economic climate.

NAR has been on the front lines for the past two years advocating for affordable housing – and spurring legislative and executive action.

In March, the White House included a historic funding request for affordable housing in its fiscal year 2023 budget proposal.

In May, thousands of REALTORS® descended on Washington, D.C., and hand-delivered to Congress a comprehensive list of actions they could take to address the housing shortage. A couple weeks later, the Administration released the President’s Housing Supply Action Plan.

In July, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun testified before the Senate Banking Committee on housing inventory and affordability. That month, the Treasury Department allowed the use of $350 billion in American Rescue Plan funds for developing, repairing, and operating affordable housing units.

This crucial effort continued in September, as NAR President Leslie Rouda Smith participated in a White House meeting with Administration officials and a diverse group of housing industry leaders to discuss viable solutions to the nation’s housing supply and affordability crisis.

The candid discussion covered legislative, administrative, private sector, and state and local actions to address housing supply and affordability challenges across the country.

President Leslie conveyed NAR’s support for a comprehensive plan that includes investment in new construction, zoning reforms, expansion of financing, and tax incentives to spur investment in housing and convert unused commercial space to residential.

National Association of Home Builders CEO Jerry Howard echoed these priorities, saying builders have urged the administration to create policies to ease supply chain problems, which contribute to construction delays and higher home building costs.

Last week, NAR reinforced this message with a letter to the National Economic Council laying out a comprehensive roadmap of policy proposals to spur federal action and incentivize state and local governments, and private actors, to boost supply and affordability.

NAR will continue to raise the alarm on housing supply and engage in productive discussions like these with the Administration, policymakers, and our industry partners to advance viable reforms that have a lasting impact on the housing market.

Comments(16)

  1. REPLY
    Jesse Petton says

    I don’t believe you’re going to solve this problem at a national level. States government pass requirements for housing and then local governments add their layer of requirements. In my area of southern California permits and connection fees are approximately $62,500 per home. With that upfront cost builders have no desire to build small affordable homes. The time to complete entitlement on a parcel of land for subdivision has increased over the years from 6 months to now approaching 2 years. Make a mistake on one department and you may have to start over and re-submit to 17 departments. Building departments and employees have no skin in the game. They get paid no matter how bad the service. The only way to have affordable housing is to increase supply and include fast track programs. I could go on for hours but like many who have worked with developers we’re getting tired of the fight.

    • REPLY
      Meridian Qalliaj says

      Yet builders profit going up

    • Scott Brown
      REPLY
      Scott60 says

      I used to be a California Building General Contractor and hung up my toolbelt 16 years ago to get into real estate. I’ve been a broker in multiple states including California and the CA politicians are pure tyrant thugs. I see many problems that I could write for days and days about and agree that the costs are way too high and regulations are far too abusive to any freedom loving American who wants to be able to build on their own land or run their own company the way they want to. When they let the people from all other nations pour over our borders without screening them or allowing them in via legal doors, those same politicians should be forced to pay out of their own pockets to have enough homes built for every single one of them. I may opt for a national program to eliminate tyrant thugs from the government positions like governors, senators and others who push policies on us all that make everyone’s lives less enjoyable. States need to be put in check to make things better for us all.

  2. REPLY
    Cherry St.Clare says

    Yes this housing need, needs to be constantly addressed at the highest level as whatever is decided will take years before we as realtors realize its effects. The folks wanting the housing will eventually just give up as they continue to see their government & cities spread out the length of time to respond to this very real crisis. Charity begins at home and where I am here in Central Florida the cities could lift some of the zoning rules with people on acreage who could subdivide to build 2nd, 3rd & 4th dwellings. Also these vacant commercial and derelict factory areas should be rezoned residential, and every major city, especially in the warmer climates, where there are many homeless families , should invest in acre upon acre of tiny homes or cubical homes to get many families under roof. Solutions are out there they just need to be applied. Let’s push to take care of the Americans who are here hurting.

  3. REPLY
    Sidney says

    This is great! Lovely to see NAR doing this hard work and creating solutions to solve the housing supply issue.

  4. REPLY
    Sidney says

    Fantastic! Lovely to see NAR doing this hard work and creating solutions to solve the housing supply issue.

  5. REPLY
    Brenda says

    Fantastic this is being addressed.The indecent profits developers are reaping needs to be addressed also. Saying the two words rent control was almost taboo but that’s also what needs to be brought to the fore. Changes the whole economy when people cannot afford to live in a decent home.

  6. REPLY
    Gary Delcourt says

    Amazing Job! NAR is making a difference in people’s lives!

  7. REPLY
    Norwood Jackson says

    The recent rise in interest rates is not helping to create affordable housing. Interest rate increases affect the lower and entry level buyers the most.

  8. REPLY
    Stephen Smith says

    As long as investors and large hedge funds are dominating the market with cash buyer purchases, the inventory shortage will continue. Every time they purchase a house, a traditional buyer is denied the opportunity to own a home.

  9. REPLY
    Norwood Jackson says

    There are large companies purchasing tracts of land and building single family homes strictly for rental. Interest rates rising prevents home ownership so these companies can fill up their rental properties. Most subdivisions in my area require 2000+ sq ft homes. That kills first time home buyers that might would start with a 1200 or 1400 sq ft home. Some of the other comments are hitting the nail on the head when they talk about the length of time to get a subdivision approved. If you purchase a tract of land for $1 million in my area, then start to get a subdivision approved, put in infrastructure like water, sewer and streets, the time can run into two or more years of paying interest and costs before ever breaking ground on the first house. All these costs add up so then the developer builds bigger houses trying to recoup their investment. Small developers, not big companies, make money as long as the economy continues to grow but a bump in the economy can put a developer out of business quickly.

  10. REPLY
    Tom Jones says

    Perhaps limiting the yearly influx of 1.66 million (registered) immigrants, and the millions (of unregistered) immigrants each year would help.
    Not meant to be a political comment, just a fact that seems to be ignored. Both Obama and Trump did much better with this, so we know both political parties have had the understanding and ability to address this crisis.

  11. REPLY
    Paul E. Little says

    I understand, many of the comments suggest speedbumps and time problems. May I suggest that at least a few of these challenges might be resolved by taking a page out of the TUCSON, ARIZONA’s FLD (Flexible Lot Development Program). As adopted by our Mayor and Council we now have many very meaningful concessions for developers of an FLD program.

  12. REPLY
    Patrick Riley says

    We are up that creek and no paddle. Clear the creek. Remove the roadblocks, open it up for our hard working construction workers, and let them supply 150,000 to 250,000 dollar homes. Give them the the funds and ideas and let us build the america we deserve for our children and all Americans. People in Washington, make it happen or the boat sinks. Without the 95% of the working people, the 5% can find themselves in another country with most their wealth gone. Last chance America, and the rich top 5%. Better get this right and make it happen fast. We find ourselves without hope, we all sink.

  13. REPLY
    Victoria Tupu says

    GREAT Job! NAR is making a difference in people’s lives!

  14. REPLY
    Lisa Barker says

    First time home buyers in my era didnt have to have the best house. They started out with a fixer uppers and they took pride in their investment. Today, first time homebuyers think that if a house isn’t perfect, they don’t want to buy it. There are plenty of these houses currently on the market and not being touched. It is the expectation that has risen, not necessarily just the price of inflation.

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